Starbucks

Jeremy H is right, this joint has been around a very long time. In fact I can remember when there was a very small car park out front where you could safely leave your car curbside forever without risking a ticket, which made this a great pit stop and place to just chill out. It also made it accessible. These days there’s absolutely no need to risk a run in with the LTA since the Holland MRT exit is right on the doorstep of this grand old lady of a ‘bucks.
The store has also recently been made over with a nice brightly-​lit minimalist interior. I have mixed feelings about the change from the cosy, slightly dingy and definitely kitschy, stuffed couch dimly lit HV ‘bucks of yesteryear. It always made me feel like I was hanging out at a cooky aunt’s parlor. This looks like a proper coffee shop now. I’m sure unencumbered by nostalgia, any visitor to Starbucks at Holland Village will feel welcome and be impressed by the shiny clean interior.
I still love coming here and you could do a lot worse than giving them some of your time and money to luxuriate in clean minimalist comfort whilst you plot your next Unilocal check-​in.

The Starbucks in Holland Village is a two story outlet. This Starbucks is always filled with a lot of students and people studying. Expect the regular Starbucks drinks and food menu here.
Staff is really friendly here. Im always greeted with a smile and a little bit of conversation. It gets a bit crowded here on the weekends but weekday nights are usually pretty quiet. Don’t sit upstairs though, it can get pretty messy and dirty with people hanging out for hours.

This Starbucks has been around for ages and when I say ages, I mean I’ve been coming here since I was a geeky student in secondary school some 13 – 14 years ago! Holland Village has been a favorite haunt for my friends as our school at Dover Road was a short bus ride away. The second floor of Starbucks quickly became our study spot while preparing for our O Levels. It is actually hard to get a seat on the second floor — much more comfortable compared to the first floor with sofas and all. But the downside is the alfresco seating area is where smokers smoke so you get the occasional whiff of second hand smoke as well.
Back in the day we would arrive early in the morning, grab a venti-​sized coffee and plonk ourselves down on a prized seat, study and do endless 10-​year series questions, grab lunch from Cold Storage and sneak it in to Starbucks. Maybe another venti-​sized coffee after lunch. Fun times!